A Night of Five People, Two in the Closet

"Hehe, Lin Nai, did I interrupt your rest?" Kiana asked sheepishly.

Lin Nai rubbed his temples. "No. What is it, Kiana?"

"I just... can't sleep..."

"Can't sleep?"

Lin Nai froze for a moment, then poked his head out to take a look before stepping aside. "Come in first. It's cold outside."

"Mm!"

Kiana walked in with a smile.

Lin Nai could not stop himself from yawning. Though he was exhausted, he still forced himself to stay awake.

"So, is this because of your father?"

Lin Nai did not sit down. He was afraid that if he did, he would fall asleep.

Better not, then.

Kiana had no such reservations and casually sat down on the bed.

A year had passed.

Sometimes, for one reason or another, she would squeeze in beside Lin Nai to sleep.

The two children had traveled through more than half the country, and they had spent a great deal of time in the wilderness.

When it got cold, of course they knew to huddle together for warmth.

"No, I was just thinking... can Anti-Entropy really be trusted?" Kiana picked up a pillow and hugged it to her chest.

She was still a little worried...

What if Anti-Entropy was some kind of bad organization?

And why had Lin Nai, who was always so cautious, trusted Anti-Entropy so quickly?

It could not possibly be just because the other side had two pretty older sisters, right?

It was not that Kiana lacked brains. She simply did not like using them most of the time.

She had once been a girl wandering the outside world. If she had been an idiot, she would have long since met some unknown misfortune.

After meeting Lin Nai, she trusted him, so she gradually started setting her brain aside.

But tonight, unease had appeared in her heart for no reason.

It felt as though something bad would happen if they went to Anti-Entropy.

Just like her first reaction when she saw Lin Nai collapsed in that red liquid today—she could barely breathe.

Lin Nai looked at Kiana as she hugged her pillow and fired off question after question.

He took a deep breath.

Then he finally sat down beside Kiana, reached out, and gently stroked her head.

"It's okay, it's okay. You don't need to worry, Kiana. I'll handle everything."

"I know, and I believe in you too, Lin Nai, but..."

"Still feeling uneasy?"

"Mm..."

"Is there a little chair here?"

"...No."

Lin Nai helplessly rummaged through the System Space for quite a while before taking out a small stool.

At the same time, he grumbled unhappily, "You came all the way here, but you didn't even bring a chair."

"I forgot... Besides, I knew you definitely had one here..."

Kiana spoke quietly and obediently sat on the little stool Lin Nai had taken out.

She leaned back slightly, resting against Lin Nai's chest.

Lin Nai let Kiana lean against him, gently stroking her snow-white hair.

Kiana glanced at the mirror on the table. Lin Nai was tenderly smoothing her white hair.

But the exhaustion on his face had been there since several days ago.

Had she come at the wrong time?

"Don't overthink it. I've already stayed up for several days. Staying up a little longer won't kill me." Lin Nai patted Kiana's head, completely unconcerned.

"Oh..."

After several seconds of silence, Kiana continued, "Lin Nai, I actually... was really scared that you'd collapse today and not get back up."

When she had found Lin Nai lying on the ground, covered in blood, she really had been startled.

If she had not known that Lin Nai would not actually be in any danger...

This guy always liked pulling these strange little stunts.

Clearly, he only needed to take down that elite monster.

Whenever he fought Honkai Beasts, he killed them in one move, yet against a mere grunt, he had to drag things out.

But because the situation had seemed pretty bad, she had steadied her emotions before calling out to Lin Nai.

"Have a little more faith in me, Kiana."

"Hm? Don't I trust you enough?"

"Barely enough?"

"Hey, what do you mean, barely? No one in this world trusts you more than I do!"

Kiana pouted in dissatisfaction and lightly punched Lin Nai's leg.

Lin Nai nodded along perfunctorily.

Which earned him another barrage of kitty punches from Kiana.

"What story do you want to hear today?"

Lin Nai asked.

Kiana thought for a moment. "Hmm... then I want to hear Mebius's story!"

"Okay~"

Lin Nai agreed, playing with Kiana's hair as he began telling the story of Mebius.

Meanwhile, inside the wardrobe.

Tesla and Einstein looked at each other, listening to the young boy and girl confiding in one another outside.

Tesla whispered, "Did that kid Lin Nai forget about us?"

Einstein peered through the gap for a few moments. "Probably..."

"From my observations, Lin Nai's energy is clearly at its limit. His reactions are completely different from this morning."

"I can see that too!" Tesla rolled her eyes.

Einstein looked at Tesla expressionlessly. "Then Dr. Tesla still interrupted Lin Nai's rest?"

"Bird's Nest Head, weren't you the same?"

"I followed Dr. Tesla here."

"Ugh..."

"Now, Dr. Tesla should prepare herself to spend the entire night in this wardrobe."

"Eh..."

Tesla pulled a long face, but there was nothing she could do.

It seemed she really might have to spend the night in the closet.

Uwa...

Who would have thought that after living so many years, Tesla would face a day like this?

Fortunately, Einstein was stuck here with her.

As Lin Nai told his story over there, Einstein and Tesla were gradually drawn in as well.

Tesla was captivated by the story.

Einstein was captivated by the technology within it.

It had to be said, the script provided by the system was truly useful.

The stories it produced could attract many people, and Mebius's plot was good to begin with.

Friendship and bonds.

After all, the script did not have flowers, trees, skies, blah blah blah blah blah.

Huh?

Why was the script provided by the system?

You could not expect someone who could not remember the plot of Honkai Impact 3rd to remember the plot of an entire Ultraman series.

Not to mention that Mebius had fifty episodes!

That did not even include the movies and side stories.

So if he did not ask the system for help, who else could he ask? Right?

Five People in the Night, Two in the Closet

Knock, knock, knock—

"Hm?"

Lin Nai, who was telling the story, and Kiana, who was listening to it, both looked up.

Kiana did not know who would come looking for Lin Nai at this hour.

Lin Nai did not know why so many people were coming to see him in the middle of the night.

"Come in?"

Lin Nai called out in surprise.

The door was gently pushed open.

A girl with spiral drill-shaped hair poked her head inside. "Lin Nai, sorry to interrupt... Kiana?"

A puzzled expression appeared on Bronya's face.

Especially when she saw Kiana lying in Lin Nai's arms.

Bronya tilted her head. Should she borrow one of Kiana's old lines and say, Did I come at a bad time?

After all, Kiana had arrived first, so Bronya had no right to say that.

"Shorty... Bronya, what are you doing here so late at night?"

Kiana had originally wanted to call her shorty.

Then Lin Nai pinched her cheek, so she had no choice but to change her words.

Hmph!

What did Lin Nai know? This was Kiana's affectionate nickname for her companion Bronya!

Lin Nai: That was exactly why you later went from Idiot Kiana to Tuna.

"Can't sleep."

Bronya said matter-of-factly.